Hold Back the River
by kangaroo2010
Summary: Sokka won't lie; he's sad to see his sister go. But, at the end of the day, the only thing he's angry about is that she didn't do this years ago. Submitted to to the ATLA FanFiction Challenges forum.


Submission for alyssialui's challenge on ATLA Fanfiction Challenges. Submitted May 21st, 2015 (beat the deadline by ten days, woo!).

Word Count: 11,870 (give or take)

Topic: Confessions

Rating: T, for some adult language, adult themes, and hinted adult situations (everyone was of the age of consent in the United States at all times, though)

Title and Starting Lyrics Stolen From: James Bay, from their song _Hold Back the River,_ which rocks

Favorite Food: My wife's _Tia_ Irma's mac-and-cheese

Currently: Listening to the rain come down outside

Hope and Prayer: That I win, because I've never won anything like this before

Moving: On!

* * *

 **Hold Back the River**

 _ **Hold back the river, let me look in your eyes,  
Hold back so I…  
Can stop for a minute and see where you hide,  
Hold back the river, hold back…**_

HIS SISTER'S SHIP LEFT AT DAWN. It was, he had to admit, a truly glorious sunrise, one of the most beautiful that he had ever seen, a wonder in a lifetime of wonders. He stood on that pier, the docks coming to life around him, sailors grumbling and cursing at they loaded up their ships, passengers bustling along, families hugging and kissing and more than a few children rolling their eyes and looking impatient. He looked upon the rising sun, at the way the sun's rays seemed to kiss the ocean, the rolling hills of his homeland practically glowing in the warm light. The world was a riot of pinks and yellows and oranges and reds, thin wispy clouds like cotton candy inching across the sky.

He looked upon a glorious sunrise, sighed, and thought back upon some of those wonders. He remembered a sister who could bend like no one in their tribe had ever been able to bend before. He remembered the moment when his uncle gave him the Mark of the Brave. He remembered the moment when a princess smiled at him and told him she liked him, too. He remembered his shock when his sister came barreling out from beneath Ba Sing Se, pulling a distraught looking prince with half-a-face by the hand, a prince who had an Avatar slung over his shoulder, the same Avatar this same prince had spent half-a-year chasing.

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. _Because,_ he remembered, _see, the thing was…I wasn't so much shocked by the actual_ _ **presence**_ _of the prince, so much as I was shocked that it had taken him so damn long._

Beside him, he felt his sister look up and smile. "Dare I ask what's so funny, Sokka?"

Sokka shrugged, eyes still locked on the horizon. _Gods, it's beautiful here. I've never seen anything so beautiful as the sun rising over my homeland. I could never live anywhere else._ Dark thoughts pricked at the edges of his consciousness then, pain and heartache and the Kyoshi Warrior he had let get away. _But she was never mine, was she? Mine, nor anybody else's. She belonged to her Sisters, always and forever._

 _But,_ he admitted, _it was nice while it lasted._

Gaze still on the sunrise, he pushed the dark thoughts away and cracked his world-famous smile. "Nothing much. I was just remembering the look on Zuko's face when you guys first popped up from the Crystal Catacombs."

Katara giggled, and there was a rustling sound which he knew from long experience meant she was fiddling with her hair. "Oh, _gods,_ that was just… _priceless._ He _still_ remembers _exactly_ what you said."

"And who wouldn't?" he replied, doing nothing to contain his smirk. "It was a rare moment of true brilliance, even by my standards." _And it really was, if I don't say so myself, which I just did._ _ **Took you long enough, jerkbender. Now, come on, let's get a move on.**_

She gave him a light smack on the arm. "Oh, hush, you. No pretty girls are around, so you don't have to toot your damn horn."

He gave his arm a theatrical rub, finally turning to regard her. "I beg to differ. The most beautiful girl in the world is standing right here on this pier, after all."

She rolled her eyes even as she smiled, because surely, by now, _or so he hoped,_ she knew that, when it came to her, he always spoke directly from the heart. Because she _was_ beautiful, so beautiful that it hurt, and not just because he wasn't sure when he'd be able to see her again. She was twenty-six now, no longer a little girl, and it showed, in ways he normally didn't think about and whose existence he had allowed only one boy to notice. Only one, a boy he loved like a brother.

 _A prince with half-a-face, tall and thin, who had never quite mastered the ability to smile, unless my sister was around._

 _Unless my sister was around…_

That's when it all hit him, everything that had happened, was happening, was about to happen. It was like a slap across the face, or one of those balls of ice-cold water that his sister used to pretend she was _accidentally_ dropping on him. He looked down on his sister, and out of nowhere, his eyes began to burn. He sniffed, tried not to let the tears come, but they came, because of _course_ they did. There he was, trying to be all _stoic and cool,_ and he couldn't, he just _couldn't,_ because his baby sister was about to board a boat, and he was the only one in the world who knew about it, the only one who _would_ know for what he could only hope would be at least a few weeks. It all hit him, and then he was holding her tight, and the tears were sliding down his face, and the last thing he wanted to do was let her go.

For once, she didn't huff or roll her eyes or remind him that she wasn't a little girl anymore, _come on, Sokka, get with the times._ No, she let him hold her, and she held him right back, and she buried her face in his chest and they both did their best to ignore the dampness that sprang to life there.

 _Heh,_ he thought, a painful smirk etching itself upon his face, _tear-bending. That stupid fucking play got the last word, in the end._

 _In the end…_

He didn't know how long they stood there in the ethereal half-light of early morning, holding each other, but, as far as he was concerned, it wasn't long enough. But, no matter how much he wanted to hold her and protect her against the world, all stories must, eventually, come to end. _Even mine, and besides, it's not like she ever needed protecting anyways._ Slowly, carefully, he released her, pulling back until he was holding her at arm's length, sniffling like a kid who just got their first skinned knee, wondering how his throat had gotten so hot and scratchy, or when his tongue became so heavy. She looked just as emotional, but, _as usual,_ he thought with a mental snort, she looked better, more put together…

 _More mature…_

She smiled from ear-to-ear, a smile that was heartbreakingly sad in its beauty. "I love you, Sokka. You know that, right?"

He shrugged and rolled his eyes and cracked a grin. "Well, _duh._ Who wouldn't love me? I mean, we're talking about _me_ here."

She giggled. "Isn't that one of Toph's favorite lines?"

He made a big show of pondering that. "You know…once you remove all the profanity, I'm pretty sure it becomes its own thing."

She popped an eyebrow. "So, you're totally just going to take credit for it?"

He scoffed. " _Duh._ Don't you know me by now?" He took a deep, moisture-laden breath, slowly, carefully, let it out. "But, in all seriousness…I don't care what happens. Wherever I am, wherever I go, in that place, you'll always have a home." His eyes flicked down, towards her stomach, but he stopped them, tore them away and fixed them upon her face. _"All of you."_

She sighed, popped up, and pecked him on the cheek. "You're ridiculous, Brother."

"Hey, it's all part of my charm."

"That's one word for it." She gave herself a shake, and tore herself from his grasp. She snatched a satchel up off the pier, threw it over her shoulder, picked up a big, bulky duffel back, let it hang loosely from her fingers. "But yeah…I gotta go…"

He nodded, trying to look everywhere but at the waiting ship. "I know…"

She looked away, at what, he couldn't even begin to guess, her free hand toying with her necklace. "You…you sure you don't hate me?"

The mere _idea_ was so ludicrous he almost collapsed into a heap of hysterical laughter. "You're kidding, right?"

Her eyes slid to him, her face following after what seemed like an insufferably long pause. She didn't say anything, but she didn't need to.

Her eyes did all the talking.

 _Fortunately,_ he thought, _I've never lacked the inability to talk._ That batty old fortuneteller's words came bubbling up out of the fog of the past. _Your future is full of struggle and anguish…most of it self-inflicted, I'm afraid to say._ He sighed. _I don't know about anguish, it's been a pretty good life, all told, but the self-inflicted struggle? She got that part down_ _ **pat.**_

He took one more moment to really take in his sister. _Among other things,_ he thought with a smirk. _I'll have to pop in and tell that old bat how right she was, one of these days._

He sighed. _One of these days…_

"Katara," he said, gently grasping her chin so she had to look at him, "you're my sister. I'll always love you, and I could never, _ever,_ hate you. The only thing I'm mad about is that you didn't take this ship years ago."

She smiled, eyes full of unshed tears. "Really?"

He rolled his eyes. " _Really._ Now, come on, get on your damn ship, and when you see jerkbender, tell him that what I told him after Aang's stupid dance party six years ago is still very much in effect."

She shot him a suspicious little _look,_ one of her patented ones, he noted. "What on _earth_ did you tell Zuko?"

He did his best to look innocent. "That's for him and I to know, and you to, if the gods are good, _never_ find out." He kissed her on the forehead, and took a few steps back. "Now, get a move on, before I decide to just keep you."

She gave him one last little smile, leaned over, kissed him on the cheek, and whispered, _"Thank you."_ And that, it seemed in the blink of an eye, she was gone. She was standing at the railing of the ship as it pulled away, giving him a sad little wave, a wave that he returned, not caring who was seeing him cry.

Then, the ship slid over the horizon, and he picked up his own bag and headed for the ship that would take him to Omashu.

* * *

 _IT TOOK THE SHIP OVER THREE WEEKS TO GET TO EMBER ISLAND. From her homeland, it went straight to Kagoshima, where it offloaded its cargo and most of its passengers, then took on more cargo and more passengers, and began chugging along the southern coast of the Fire Nation. It was a leisurely cruise, one she'd made before, and normally, she would've loved it. For all of its many faults, the Fire Nation was a beautiful country, and she liked the southern regions of it the best. Everything had a vaguely sunburnt, almost unreal quality to it, and she had long since lost count of how many times she had stood at ships' railings, watching the world slide by, heart either lodged in her throat with excitement or sunk down into her toes with depression, depending upon which way she was going._

 _This time, though, the trip was a misery. Among all the other changes it was currently going through, her body had decided, apropos of nothing, it seemed, that she was now prone to seasickness. Thus, she spent most of her time with her hair pulled back and her head hanging over a toilet, groaning and wishing it would all end, trying to ignore the shouts and cheers and yells from the cabin full of officers heading to Ember Island on leave across the hall from her. When the ship finally reached what was, for her, its final destination, she all but wept with relief._

 _Then she stepped into the restaurant and saw the stunned look on his face and threw herself into his arms and squealed as he picked her up and swung her around and around and she started weeping for real. He held her, and the customers all applauded and cheered, and she decided that it was all worth it, everything that had happened, for this moment, right here._

 _She didn't tell him at first. She had thought she would, but when the time came, she was just so happy to be there, so full of laughter and joy as she gave him a kiss before the gods and everyone before putting on an apron and going to work in the kitchen, that she pretty much forgot about it. All of her nerves, all of her jitters, all of her nausea, it all just kind of…_ _ **faded away.**_ _She went into the kitchen and went to work and laughed with the friends she had made back there on her previous visits, all whom expressed amazement,_ _ **weren't you just here, like, what, two, three months ago, it's nice to have you back, when are you leaving?**_

 _It amused her that, when she smiled and said,_ _ **probably never,**_ _no one seemed surprised._

 _The restaurant was busy that day; the five-year anniversary of the end of the War was just around the corner, and Ember Island was throwing out all the stops to celebrate, drawing unprecedented crowds from around the world. She barely even saw Zuko, he was so busy, since Iroh had apparently decided that_ _ **owning a restaurant**_ _actually meant,_ _ **swapping dirty jokes with the regulars while my too-serious nephew does all the real work for me.**_ _Not that Zuko minded; anything that enabled him to avoid having interaction with the customers was fine by him._

 _ **And, you know what?**_ _She smiled to herself, wiping sweat from her brow as the restaurant began winding down to closing time, her feet sore and her back aching and the most delicious, cat-that-got-the-sparrowkeet grin on her face._ _ **I don't mind, either. This…this is going to be a good life.**_

 _ **I like it here.**_

 _Then Zuko popped his head into the kitchen looking awkward and fumbling over his words, and she just rolled her eyes and kissed him hard enough that it took_ _ **her**_ _breath away, much less_ _ **his,**_ _and said,_ _ **Come on, Zuko, I've been your "secret girlfriend" for, what, six years now?**_

 _ **Ever since Ba Sing Se, really,**_ _he mumbled, face red as a beet._

 _She giggled._ _ **Yeah…so, it's been awhile, and you're**_ _ **still**_ _ **nervous about asking me out on a date?**_

 _He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck._ _ **Yeah, well…you have that effect on me, okay? And besides, I'm not even really sure what's going on out there. I…I didn't think you'd be here, so I…well…heh…you know…**_

 _She felt her eyebrow pop as she crossed her arms and gave him one of her patented_ _ **looks. What,**_ _she said,_ _ **you were just going to sit in your room and mope over a book all night?**_

 _ **Heh…it is kind of my thing…**_

 _She threaded her arm through his and began walking him out the door._ _ **Well, that changes today. From now on, no more moping, just being cute and gross with me as we go for long walks.**_

 _The smile that creased his face made everything worthwhile all over again._ _ **That…that sounds nice, Katara. It really does.**_ _His face fell, and he suddenly looked very sad._ _ **When do I…when do I have to give you up?**_

 _They were out in the street now, her watching as he bowed out the last employees and locked up, Iroh having long since tottered off with what Zuko called_ _ **the Old Fart Club. When do you want to give me up?**_ _she asked, suddenly feeling very coy and mischievous._

 _He fixed his one good eye upon her._ _ **Never. You know that, Katara.**_

 _He pocketed the keys, turning to offer her his arm, an offer she immediately took him up on as she said,_ _ **In that case, never is when you will have to give me up.**_

 _ **You…you really mean that?**_

 _She settled her head upon his shoulder as they began to walk down the street, heading in the direction of all the lights and celebrations._ _ **More than I've ever meant anything in my entire life.**_

 _ **That…**_ _He took a deep breath, let it out, and when he spoke, his voice sounded disbelieving._ _ **That's the best thing I've ever heard. Can I…can I ask what happened?**_

 _She giggled._ _ **You can ask, but I have a feeling you'll figure it out.**_

 _He scoffed._ _ **We're talking about me here, Captain Oblivious.**_

 _She sighed._ _ **I have faith in you.**_

 _ **You always did,**_ _he admitted._

 _ **And I always will,**_ _she replied, as they turned a corner and plunged into an island on fire with joy and hope and all the light that a world at peace could provide._

* * *

 _A MONTH._ Sokka groaned, his face cradled in the palm of one of his hands, a splitting headache searing his brain. _A whole gods-damn fucking_ _ **month,**_ _and not a single word._ He looked at the papers piled on the desk, at the barely controlled chaos that was the office he had been given upon his arrival in Ba Sing Se, and felt like crying with frustration. _I told her to write as soon as she got there, and what do I get?_ _ **Nothing,**_ _not so much as a whispered_ _ **rumor**_ _for an entire freaking_ _ **MONTH.**_ He growled, deep in the back of his throat, his free hand reaching for the cigarette he had burning in an already over-flowing ashtray and taking a puff so deep that it made his eyes water. _I'm going to kill that girl when I see her, I fucking_ _ **swear.**_

The past week had not in any way helped in alleviating his frustration; if anything, it just gave him all new things to be irked with. When all the chiefs of the Southern Water Tribes, them and their families, had been invited to the big bash in honor of the fifth anniversary of the end of the War, he distinctly remembered being promised endless rivers of wine, pretty girls to dance the night away with, and more food than even he could eat. Instead, he had arrived to find his father looking angry enough to put a fist through a wall, and when they finally made it to the rooms his father had been given in Emperor Kuei's palace, he had discovered, to what he really wished could be called _surprise,_ that not only was the big peace treaty that was supposed to be signed at the official celebration not finished, it wasn't even _close_ to being done. What had followed was what Sokka could only call _the week from hell,_ during which he sat in on more meetings and poured over more papers than he had thought could possibly exist in the world.

He sighed, heavily tapping the ash from his cigarette and taking another puff. Not for the first time, he found himself cursing the day he and his sister had dug Aang from the ice. As a longtime companion of the Avatar, as well as the only one who had made it to Ba Sing Se, his input had been declared of vital importance, which was why he was currently buried in proposals and counter-proposals and counter-counter- _counter-_ proposals, and that was just what had made it to his actual _desk._

 _And through it all,_ he thought, giving his cigarette an accusing glare, because, really, where did it all go, didn't he just light it, _everyone keeps asking me where Katara is. Delegates, Aang, kings, Aang, far too many young and single nobles, Aang, Kuei, Aang, Bumi, fucking_ _ **Aang.**_

 _Oh, yeah, and Dad, too._ With a sigh, he stubbed out his cigarette, and began pondering whether he should go ahead and roll the next one. _I'm running out of excuses on_ _ **that**_ _front._

 _And, still, from Katara, not a freaking_ _ **word.**_

 _Gah!_

It was with that pleasant thought in his head that he noticed a gentle rapping on the door. Taking a pull from the half-empty glass of ice wine resting amidst the chaos on his desk, he set to looking for his tobacco pouch and rolling papers, hoping whoever it was would go away. When they didn't, and the rapping continued, he rolled his eyes and barked, _"It opens!"_

His words proved prophetic, because, just then, the door creaked open a little crack, and the head of a rather befuddled-looking servant with glasses to rival Kuei's popped into the room. "Um…my lord?"

Sokka barely managed to keep himself from rolling his eyes at the title. _I just_ _ **had**_ _to let Kuei ennoble me, didn't I? No matter how much Katara told me I'd hate it, or how much Zuko and Toph warned that it would get really old, really fast, I just_ _ **had**_ _to go with it._ _ **It'll be cool,**_ _I told them._ _ **Me, a lord? How awesome is that?**_

 _One more thing I'll have to tell my friends they were right about._ He slumped back in his chair, his search for tobacco temporarily forgotten, his wine glass clasped firmly in his hand. _At least Zuko won't be all,_ _ **I told you so, blockhead.**_ _Why? Because Zuko's a pal, that's why. Sure, he kind of violated one of the biggest rules of the_ _ **Bro Code,**_ _but, hey, it's not like I didn't practically give him the go-ahead._

He allowed himself a smile. _Best decision I ever made, really. My sister really should thank me. I mean, she can_ _ **say**_ _that she didn't need any help, that she had it all in hand, but we all know who_ _ **really**_ _deserves the credit._

 _That being me, of course. Isn't that right, Inner Sokka? Why, you're right as ever, Inner Sokka, because you, you're always right,_ _ **especially**_ _when you're wrong. And when am I wrong, Inner Sokka? Why, never, Inner Sokka, because you're Sokka, how could you ever be wrong? I love you, Inner Sokka. I know._

"Um…my lord? Are you awake?"

His eyes snapped open, and he rolled his head towards the door, where the servant still waited, seemingly oblivious of the fact that Sokka was currently trying his hardest to ignore the guy. "Yes…?"

The servant cleared his throat, still looking strangely nervous, but then again, _all_ servants looked on edge to Sokka. "May I come in, my lord?"

Sokka shrugged. "If you feel like it. Just don't step on anything."

The servant gave the paper-strewn floor a dubious look. "Um…I'll try, my lord."

"Don't we all? Come on in."

The servant did just that, carefully picking their way through the chaos until he came to a stop before Sokka's desk, whereupon he rendered a rather stiff-looking bow. "Good afternoon, my lord."

Sokka bowed his head in thanks. "Good afternoon yourself, buddy. What can I do for you?"

The servant drew themselves up to their full height, which wasn't much, in Sokka's eyes, but he knew better than anyone that sometimes it was the effort that counted. "My lord, your father, His Highness Chief Hakoda, requests your attendance upon his person."

For a moment, Sokka considering trying, _for the thousandth time,_ to get at least _one_ servant to stop talking to him that way, but then he remembered Toph telling him, _Don't even fucking_ _ **try,**_ _Snoozles, it's a lost cause,_ _ **trust me,**_ and decided he had better things to do. Sighing, he pulled himself to his feet, downing the last of his ice wine and setting the glass atop something that looked vaguely important. "Well then," he said, coming out from around his desk, "we mustn't keep _His Highness my father_ waiting, now, must we?"

If the servant noticed the sarcastic way Sokka drawled the title the people of the Earth Kingdom insisted on forcing upon Southern chiefs, he didn't show it. _Tough crowd._ "Very well, my lord. If you'll follow me…?"

Sokka did, and soon they were out the door and striding down the hall. "Any idea what my Dad wants?" he asked.

The servant shrugged. "I must confess that I did not inquire, my lord."

 _Of course not; that might actually be construed as_ _ **helpful,**_ _and we can't have that, now, can we?_ "Right on," he said, ducking to avoid a tray stacked high with food that sailed just over his head. "Oh, and any letters arrive for me?"

"From who?" the servant asked.

"Anyone, really," Sokka replied, doing his best to sound innocent, which even he had to admit was not his forte. "Say, Toph, or my sister?"

"You mean, the Lady Bei Fong and the Lady Katara?"

Sokka had to roll his eyes at that. _No wonder Toph skipped this bullshit; at least at her little academy, no one dares to call her_ _ **the Lady Bei Fong.**_ "Sure."

The servant shook his head. "Not that I know of, my lord."

 _Well, shit, that sounds ominous._ Sokka wasn't quite sure _why,_ exactly, he thought that, but he did. Before he had time to really process that feeling, they had arrived at their destination. The servant rapped on the door, poked his head in, exchanged some words, then popped back out, giving Sokka a very deep bow. "My lord…"

Sokka resisted the urge to roll his eyes and did his best to return the bow, a skill he had never quite mastered, and hoped he never would. "Gotcha. Thanks for the sparkling conversation."

The servant frowned. "My lord…?"

Sokka waved the words away. "Nevermind; time to find out what Dad wants." And, with that, he pushed open the door, stepped in, and let it close behind him.

It only took him about five seconds to decide he should've hidden under his desk and pretended to be in the can, like he normally did when servants came knocking.

* * *

 _ZUKO FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EVENING'S FIREWORKS DISPLAY. It was, Katara decided, the perfect magical way to end a perfectly magical day. From the moment Zuko had closed up the restaurant, they had spent the evening in a whirlwind of happiness. Later, Zuko would swear to her that he had laughed more in that one night than he had in his entire life up to that moment. When he told her this, she just rolled her eyes and kissed him and told him to stop being silly,_ _ **and stop distracting me, too, these noodles aren't going to cook themselves, you know.**_

 _They laughed, giggling like little kids at their first festival. She dragged him into every cluster of dancers, and made him swing her around to at least one song from every performing musical troupe. They marveled at bending displays and snacked on junk food that she insisted on buying from every stall. She was famished, hungrier than she'd ever been in her life, and when he laughed and asked her if she was trying to win some sort of strange bet with Sokka, she shot him a coy little glance, winked, and said,_ _ **You'll figure it out.**_

 _That's how she answered most of his questions. Not all; when he asked her something normal, like,_ _ **How is everyone,**_ _or,_ _ **How're things going back home,**_ _or,_ _ **Whatever happened with that one girl, the one Sokka was involved with after he and Suki broke up for the last time,**_ _she gave him perfectly honest, perfectly truthful answers. But the other questions, the ones like_ _ **why're you eating so much**_ _or_ _ **are you sure you don't want a drink**_ _or_ _ **why did you come, I thought you were going to have to go Ba Sing Se**_ _or_ _ **does Hakoda know you're here**_ _or even_ _ **you seem really emotional tonight, is everything alright?**_ _Well, to those, she would just shoot him that coy little look and give him that sly little wink and say the magic words:_

 _ **You'll figure it out.**_

 _And, sure enough, he did. She knew he would; he was easily twice as smart as he thought he was._ _ **And one of these days,**_ _she swore to all the gods of all the peoples of the earth,_ _ **I'll make him believe it.**_

 _They had somehow made it back to the house, the old_ _ **Royal Family Vacation Home**_ _that the people of the Fire Nation had given to him and his uncle when the vote came back two years after the War and Zuko happily gave up the throne. Inside, Iroh was carrying on, laughing and singing in his booming, perpetually slightly off-key voice, having a grand old time with his fellow_ _ **old farts,**_ _and outside, on a hill from which they could see what felt like the entire island, Katara sat between Zuko's legs, her back against his chest, his arms tight around her and his chin resting lightly atop her head. They watched, breathless from their escapades, sitting in silent wonder and total happiness, as the fireworks began and the entire island seemed to cheer all at once. It was a truly marvelous display on a truly marvelous night. The weather was soft and gentle and the island was lovely in the light of the fireworks and it was so loud that Katara could barely hear herself think and she didn't care. Iroh and his friends had staggered out onto the front porch of the house, they let out wild cheers and loud applause whenever something particularly impressive happened in the sky, and her heart was fluttering in her chest and Zuko's arms were tight and warm around her and she nuzzled in and sighed and was content._

 _It was then, in that moment, she knew she had made the right choice, and her brother was right, her only mistake was not having done it before. Sure, she had her reasons, and they were all good, or, at least, they had seemed that way at the time, but now, in that moment, every single one of them just seemed so…well…_ _ **stupid.**_

 _It made her want to laugh, laugh harder than she ever had in her entire life._ _ **For once, Sokka was right. For the first time since I was born,**_ _ **he**_ _ **will be the one who gets to say,**_ _ **I told you so**_ _ **.**_

 _ **Sure,**_ _she thought, closing her eyes to listen to the crack and boom of seemingly endless fireworks,_ _ **I'm still, like,**_ _ **way**_ _ **ahead, but hey, gotta let him win**_ _ **occasionally**_ _ **.**_

 _That's when she felt a shock ripple through Zuko's body. His grip on her tightened and she just knew that his eye had gone wide has a saucer, that even his dead eye would look stunned and dumbfounded. She twisted around in his arms, looked up at him, saw that it was true, and allowed herself what could only be called a_ _ **shit-eating grin,**_ _worthy of Sokka the first time he staggered into their shared room, up in the North, after a night with Yue._

 _She smiled, and gave Zuko a peck._ _ **You just figured it out, didn't you?**_

 _He nodded, and though his eye was stunned, his mouth was beginning to curl itself into a grin that matched her own._ _ **Did I…?**_

 _She giggled, and felt light and free as a bird._ _ **From the look on your face, it's pretty obvious you did.**_

 _He nodded, still looking utterly stunned, and his hand drifted down until it came to rest on her stomach. Warmth flooded her, and she laid her hand upon his own, gave it a squeeze. She looked into his eyes, both of them, because she never ignored his dead eye, the pale white one that was buried into the mass of scar tissue that covered the left side of his face, it was part of him and she loved all of him, even that._

 _His eyes asked a question, and to that question, she just nodded._

 _He took a deep breath, and the smile had finally reached his eyes, and he looked like he didn't know whether to laugh or cry, which was appropriate, she felt, because she was struggling with the same decision._ _ **Is that…**_ _He gulped, tried one more time._ _ **Is that why you came back?**_

 _She rolled her eyes._ _ **Of course not; I came back because I love you. Let's just say that…well…I decided the gods were finally telling me to make up my mind.**_

 _He nodded, still smiling, even as his words were thick with fear._ _ **But…what about…you know…your father and your grandmother and everything…**_

 _She shrugged. It hurt, to think of them, but she had finally decided to trust in family, and besides, she knew that Sokka would eventually bring them around._ _ **You're my family, too, Zuko; it's high time they accepted that. In fact…now, you're a bit more than family.**_

 _ **Heh…I suppose so…**_ _His gaze had drifted down to her stomach, his thumb tracing tight circles on the fabric of her shirt. A single, solitary tear spilled from his remaining eye, began tracing its way down his cheek._ _ **I…the deal remains the same. I can't promise you glory or wonder or anything like that. All I can promise you, is my uncle's restaurant, and this island, and we'll never be rich, but we'll always have a house, and…**_ _His breath hitched in his throat, and slowly, carefully, he forced his way past the visible lump in his throat and his last words spilled out in a breathless whisper._ _ **I can't give you the world, but I can promise that I'll always love you…**_

 _She grabbed his face and kissed him like she'd never kissed him before, whispering into his lips the words she'd been longing to say since she realized what had happened._

 _ **Good, because that's all I've ever wanted. I've seen the world, seen enough of it to know that you don't have to leave an island to have the grandest adventure there ever was.**_

 _Who kissed whom after that, they didn't know, and they didn't care. All that mattered, was that it went on for a long, long time._

 _The fireworks were dying down and Iroh was beginning to make his way towards them when he asked,_ _ **How should we tell him?**_

 _She giggled and twisted around to peck him on the cheek._ _ **Well, I say we come up with some crazy, cute, stupidly convoluted plan, worthy of Sokka at his most imaginative, and then, the second he gets here, you forget all about it and blurt it out in the most awkward way humanly possible.**_

 _He kissed the top of her head and laughed._ _ **Sounds good.**_

 _The plan they came up with was brilliant. Naturally, they didn't make it five seconds in before Zuko blurted it all out. It was deliciously awkward, in the best possible way._

* * *

FOR A LONG TIME, NO ONE SAID A WORD. Voices drifted through the walls like the tinkling of chimes in the wind, all while the Palace settled around them and a silence unlike any Sokka had ever known enveloped the room. He knew it was impossible, but he could swear that, somehow, someway, the silence had actual, honest-to-La _heft_ to it. It had size and shape and body and gods-damn _weight._ It reminded him uncomfortably of the silence that had fallen upon the Three-Five-Three Society, when he had realized that he had messed up his last _haiku._

 _Only, like, way worse than that. After all, that only ended with me being thrown out the front door. This could end up_ _ **much**_ _more painfully._

It was about then that Sokka decided that, well, whatever had happened had, in fact, _already happened,_ and if there was anything he had learned over the course of his life, it was that trying to dodge unpleasant consequences rarely worked out for him. _Well, I mean, not much works out for me, at least not without some sort of bodily harm…_

 _Bodily harm…_

His head snapped up. Directly across from where he stood sat a desk, and behind that desk, sat his father. The man was slumped deep in his chair, elbows perched on the chair's arms, fingers forming a kind of steeple that he kept tapping against lips that were drawn into a hard, thin line. His father's eyes were hidden in two deep pools of darkness, and everything about him put Sokka in mind of the time he had broken his arm trying to ride penguin-seals in a disastrously dangerous way whose only purpose was to impress a girl. Sokka found himself wondering if he was, indeed, too old to be bent over his father's knee, took another look at his father's face, and decided not to try his luck. He imagined all kinds of hideous occurrences, and suppressed an inner groan.

 _I swear, Katara, every damn time you get some kind of crazy idea, I end up with a bruise somewhere. Every. Damn._ _ **Time.**_

Steeling himself for the coming storm, he sauntered up to the one free chair in the room, plopping down and snatching a spare glass and the bottle of fire whiskey from his father's desk. He poured himself about a finger's worth, gave his father a sidelong glance, nodded to himself, then proceeded to fill the glass almost to the brim. Satisfied, he returned the bottle to its place, raised his glass to his father, and said, "Here's to you, Pops." He took a gulp, winced at the burn ( _seriously, how does Zuko down this stuff like water, I mean, it's good, but yeesh_ ), and smacked his lips. "Hmm…good stuff. Where'd you get it?"

His father didn't speak, merely inclined his head towards the other person in the room. Sokka turned to regard this person, and put on his bravest smile. "Hey, Aang, didn't see you there. What's shakin', bacon?"

Aang gave him a rather pained grimace, which, like most negative emotions, didn't go well with his face. The Avatar was twenty-two now, with a full head of hair (since the guy had decided that he already looked unnaturally young, he didn't need to look _creepy,_ too) and a thin, well-trimmed goatee framing his mouth. He didn't look like a kid anymore, but he still looked like…well… _Aang,_ with a slim frame and a perpetually youthful face and a body that was all knees and elbows. He was dressed in a loose-fitting set of pants and a shirt (since Aang had long since found monk's robes a bit too cumbersome for banging around outside of the public eye), and his feet were, as usual, bare, his shoes no doubt…well… _somewhere,_ a mark of far too much time spent around Toph up in Yu Dao.

"Not much," Aang admitted, his voice thin and strained, his eyes darting back-and-forth between Sokka's father and Sokka himself, a look on his face that could only be described as, _Yeah, I don't have a clue why I'm here, either._ "I was just…um…heh…" He rubbed the back of his neck and shifted his weight awkwardly in his chair. "Well, one of the officers with the Fire Nation delegation gave me that, apparently, the guy's family owns, like, the oldest fire whiskey distillery in the world or something, it's really cool, the story is, at least, because, according to family legend-"

 _Oh, gods, it's worse than I thought, if Aang is going all_ _ **motor-mouth**_ _on me._ "Alright," Sokka said, making a _get to the point_ wave with his hand, "I get the picture, probably something to do with spirits and ancient legends and some kind of bizarre animal, right?"

Aang cracked an awkward smile. "How did you know?"

Sokka shrugged. "What can I say? I've heard a lot of your stories. Anyways, the point being…?"

"Ah, right!" Sokka didn't like the way Aang was latching on to the lifeline Sokka was throwing him, didn't like it at _all. I mean, Aang normally does whatever he can to avoid uncomfortable situations, but this is just silly._ "Well, _anyways,_ the guy gave me that bottle, and I don't really drink, except when I have to, to be polite, so, you know, I figured, _Why not give it to Hakoda!_ And I came in here and dropped it off, and your Dad said I should hang around, he'd just sent for you, something about…um… _I could use the Avatar here,_ and…um…heh…" His voice trailed off, and his half-hearted attempt at a smile died a quick and sad death. "So," Aang said, obviously desperate to break the tension in any way he could, "um…hi! That's the story."

Sokka nodded. "Good story."

Aang smiled. "Really?"

Sokka rolled his eyes. "Sure, why not? Whatever the tale, this is good stuff." He took another big gulp, sloshed it around in his mouth, swallowed it, savored the burn. "Like, seriously," he continued, "fantastic stuff. I'll have to ask Zuko to see if he can get some for me."

The words were out of his mouth before he could even think to stop himself. The jolt that went through his father was impossible to miss, and it was all Sokka could do to not smack his palm to his own forehead. _Yeah, suffering and anguish, mostly of my own doing. Got that right, Aunt Wu, you old bag of bones._ With great, painful effort, Sokka slowly creaked his head around to his father, and put on his best lopsided grin, the one that had never failed him, not even with his sister.

"So, Pops," he said, admiring how quickly his glass was depleting itself, "how's it hanging?"

His father popped an eyebrow. " _How's it hanging…?"_

Sokka shrugged, determined not to wilt under pressure. "Just something the kids say these days. You really gotta get caught up on the lingo, Pop."

His father nodded, slow, his brow furrowed. "I see…well," he continued, dropping his hands to the arms of his chair and giving them a rather worrying squeeze, "now that we're all here, I think it's time I told you a story."

Aang brightened, popping up in his chair. "Ooh, I love stories! What's this one about?"

Sokka could only stare. "One of these days, Aang, one of these days…"

Aang frowned, obviously lost. "Um…okay…?"

Sokka rolled his eyes. "What am I going to do with you?" Turning back to his father, he bowed his head. "So, story time…"

Hakoda nodded. "Right. _Story._ So, here I am, in this office, trying to get a moment's peace and quiet, because gods know we haven't had any of _that_ in a while, when in pops this gangly servant. Young boy, nice enough, it seemed, I tell him to come in, and I notice he's holding the kind of tube that messenger hawks carry their messages in." He paused, tilted his head, and gave Sokka one of the deadliest glares Sokka had ever seen. "You following me so far?"

How Sokka managed not to gulp, he would never know. "Heh…uh…" He tugged at his collar, and prayed to all the gods that were that he was not sweating. "I think so…"

Hakoda nodded, even more curt this time. "I'm glad. So, this servant's standing there, the perfect picture of innocence, and asks where I can find you. This was about an hour ago, and I told him you were probably…well… _somewhere._ Naturally, I asked him why he needed you. The boy then tells me that you had left standing orders in the mail room of the Palace that, if any message arrived from your sister, _my daughter,_ I feel the need to remind you, that it was to be brought directly to you. Can you imagine that?"

Sokka grimaced into his steadily evaporating fire whiskey. "Heh…oh, I can imagine a lot of things, Dad…"

"No doubt." The words cracked like a whip, and Sokka had to try hard not to flinch. "That's the thing with young people these days, always imagining things, things I can barely even comprehend. You know what I mean, Aang?"

If Sokka was feeling depressed and defeated, Aang looked downright petrified, his expression of the sort only possible when one finds oneself standing in the middle of argument that one has no idea even _existed,_ much less what it's about. "I…um…well…it is a new world, sir. All sorts of crazy things going on."

"Indeed." Hakoda sighed, reached forward, picked up what Sokka had no doubt was the message in question. "My curiosity piqued, I told the young man to leave the message with me, I'd be sure you got it. The boy looked nervous, and told me that _Lord Sokka_ had apparently been _very specific,_ and had issued a variety of threats that the boy didn't feel comfortable repeating. Amused, suspecting that you and Katara were in some kind of cahoots together, because why else would she not be here yet, probably some sort of surprise for me, I reassured the boy that it would be quite alright, I'd take care of everything. So, the boy bowed, gave me the letter, and made his retreat."

Hakoda stopped there, ushering in a pause that Sokka found quite excruciating in its duration. Aang was fidgeting in the silence, while Sokka found himself feeling all weird and tingly. _This is good stuff,_ he thought, examining his whiskey. _Going right to my head. Which,_ he admitted to himself, _is probably not a good thing, but, oh well, if I can't be cool, I can at least be a fool._ Looking back to his father, Sokka cracked a smile and said, "Well, that's awful nice of you, Dad. What did the letter say?"

Hakoda did not hesitate, flinging the paper into Sokka's lap with remarkable accuracy. "Why don't you see for yourself."

Not seeing anything else for it, Sokka unrolled the little piece of paper with his free hand and read.

It was worse than he thought.

 _Sokka!_

 _I'm sorry I didn't write sooner; as you can imagine, things have been pretty hectic here. Zuko was through the moon when I told him (well, when he figured it out; you should've seen the look on his face!), and you can just_ _ **imagine**_ _how Iroh reacted. Iroh insisted on throwing a big party, closed the restaurant down for an entire day to prepare for the celebration. It was_ _ **amazing.**_ _I was in such a good mood, I even let Zuko pamper me, which, oddly enough, he's really good at! I know what you're thinking,_ _ **didn't know he had it in him,**_ _but I keep telling you that Zuko's a big softie at heart, you just have to know how to get it out of him._

 _But like you care about any of that! I'm running out of room, and the mailman is being all impatient, so I'll cut to the chase:_ _ **I got married!**_ _I know, I was supposed to try and wait until you could find a way to get here, but with all these people from outside the Fire Nation on the island for the anniversary, Zuko took a chance, and sure enough, he was able to scrounge up a Water Tribe shaman. Sure, he was from the North, but hey, close enough, right? So, my third night here, we had this_ _ **lovely**_ _little wedding, joint Fire Nation and Water Tribe, and yes, I cried like a baby, but not_ _ **nearly**_ _as bad as Iroh did, you would've loved it. And at the party at the restaurant, it felt like the whole_ _ **island**_ _was there, and it was just amazing!_

 _Okay, I'm really out of room here. I love you and I miss you and Zuko says to get your ass over here_ _ **post-fucking-haste**_ _(his words, not mine!), and we're writing to Toph and Aang and Suki, too, and I'm going to have to start writing on the back now, but it's hard to stop, I'm so happy and excited and I love you and since the wedding's happened you can go ahead and tell Dad when you think he's ready._

 _Love you!_

 _Katara_

 _PS – We've already picked a girl's name (Kya, Zuko's suggestion, can you believe it?), but we haven't the faintest clue what to pick for a boy. Any ideas?_

For a brief, shining moment, Sokka allowed himself the chance to smile and be happy. Everything had worked out, and for the best, too. His sister was with the man she loved, away from the homeland she'd never really fit into, happy as a clam with her whole life ahead of her, and the lucky guy happened to be someone Sokka considered an all around _good dude._ So, really, why not be happy? It was, quite literally, the best way for that particular story to end.

Then, in a flash of blinding insight, Sokka remembered where he was, and who was glaring at him from across a desk. Polishing off the rest of his glass, he dropped the letter into his lap, leaned forward, and replenished himself, taking a big gulp before putting on his best smile. "So, I take it you read the letter?"

It was a dumb question, but Sokka figured he had to start somewhere. "I did," his father intoned, in a voice as flat and cold as the grave. "Gods help me, I did."

"Is it from Katara?" Aang asked, leaning forward, face bright and beaming.

Sokka shot him a look. "No, it's from Toph. Turns out she was faking being blind all along, and figured now was as good a time as any to tell us."

Aang frowned. "You know, I get that you're being sarcastic, but that wouldn't actually be all that hard to believe."

Sokka had to chuckle at that. "You've got a point there." He picked the letter back up and proffered it to Aang. "Wanna read?"

Aang held up a hand. "I'd really rather not; doesn't seem right, you know?"

Sokka shrugged, swallowing a big gulp of whiskey. "Hey, if Dad's gonna make you sit in here and stand witness, the least you can do is find out _why._ "

Aang shrugged. "Let me guess, Katara finally ran off with Zuko? Yeah, I mean, the timing's a bit shocking, but I'm as oblivious as they come and even I…saw…that…um…heh…" His words trailed off as he sunk down into his chair, looking like he wanted very much for it to swallow him whole. _"I'm just gonna shut up now…"_

"You know," Sokka said, not knowing what else to do, "that might be a good idea." He dropped the letter back into his lap and, fortified first by yet another pull from his whiskey, slowly, carefully, as gradually as he possibly could, turned to face his father.

And immediately wished he hadn't.

 _If looks could kill, I would burst into flames right here and now, and then Dad would go to work on me._ Which, Sokka had to admit, would at least end this whole charade, but still… _yeah…_

 _Yeah…_

"So…um…heh…" He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, until he realized he was doing so and stopped himself. "So…um…surprise! Katara got married! Congratulations to her, right?"

Hakoda shook his head, once to the left, once to the right, then back to the center, his eyes receding back into shadow. "No," he said, "not _right._ None of this is _right._ Am I, quite literally, the last person to know about this?"

"Um…I'm pretty sure Emperor Kuei doesn't have a clue…"

"That does not fill me with joy, young man."

 _Oh, shit, I just got called_ _ **young man.**_ _I am_ _ **so**_ _fucked._ Out loud, though, Sokka offered another grin. "Well, hey, could be worse, you know? She could've run off with some Northerner."

"Like the Northerners that Pakku and I have been trying to introduce to her ever since the War ended?"

 _Oh, right,_ _ **that.**_ "Well, you know, she never really liked any of them, so, you know…heh…"

Hakoda nodded. "Indeed." He took a deep breath, let it out, and bulled on. Sokka had to admire his determination. "The thing is…where did this come from? How long has this been going on?"

"Ah…see…that's actually funny story…"

"I fail to see how."

"Heh…well, like I said, what ha-happened was…you know how, towards the end of our first year after the three of us left the South, we wound up in Ba Sing Se?"

"I remember. It was during that time that you came out to fight alongside me."

"Right, well…you know the Fire Quarter, the Fire Nation part of town that's been around for centuries? Well, after the Siege of the North, Zuko and his uncle, they were on the run-"

"Had a bigger bounty on their heads than I did at one point!" Aang offered.

Sokka really did slap a hand to his forehead that time. "Aang, I love you like a little brother, man, I really do, but, like, do me a big favor, and shut up."

Aang nodded and sunk back down into his chair. "Right…gotcha…my bad…"

"It's cool. _Anyways,"_ Sokka continued, re-focusing on his father, "after we beat the Dai Li, or, at least, _thought we did,_ we got all of our mail, and that's when I came out to see you and Toph decided to go visit her parents and Aang went off to go do spiritual bullshit on a mountain somewhere. Point is, Katara was left to her own devices, planning the Black Sun invasion and shit, and…well…she wandered into the Fire Quarter, ran into Zuko, and, instead of fighting, she decided to give him a chance, and they started talking, and there was a date in there where Zuko apparently tried to juggle, the details are still kind of hazy, point is, when Aang got zapped by lightning, somehow, Zuko turned on his sister, managed to get them away and back to the surface, we got the Gaang back together, plus one firebender, and…well…heh…"

Hakoda held a hand up for silence, silence Sokka promptly gave him. Sokka watched his father glower at empty space, before, finally, he began to speak.

His tone of voice made Sokka think about joining Aang in praying for the floor to swallow him up.

"So…let me see if I have this straight…you're telling me that, for at least six years now, a good two months of which were spent with all of you in my camp, then traveling in a boat with me, before you went off on your own, but, anyways, that, during this entire time, Katara, _my daughter,_ has been involved in a romantic relationship with the son of Fire Lord Ozai, gods curse his soul to ever-lasting torment. Did I miss anything?"

"Other than the whole relationship?" Sokka offered. "Nope, not a thing."

For a moment, Hakoda was stunned to silence, and Sokka gave himself a mental high-five. Sure, he was probably about to die for it, but, hey, if his big mouth couldn't someday get him killed, was the point in having it?

Finally, Hakoda managed to choke out, "Come again…?"

Sokka shrugged. Maybe it was the whiskey, maybe it was the fact that he really just wanted to steal Appa and go give his sister a hug, or all of the above, _whatever,_ but he was starting to find it very hard to care. "Honestly, I thought you knew. I mean, there was that glare you were giving Zuko all through the ball in Miyako after the end of the War, you know, when he and Katara spent the entire night dancing and making eyes at each other? And then there was that massive lecture, you know, the one that reduced her to tears, about how, sure, Zuko was a nice enough boy, _you understood if she had a crush,_ but he was Fire Nation, and that was the end of it, _and isn't Aang looking nice today?"_ He took another gulp, and sighed as the whiskey burned its way down. "You know, the one where you said that, if she didn't put this crush to bed, you'd lock her in the cellar and throw away the key?"

"Well," Hakoda said, shrugging awkwardly, which Sokka considered a win, "any idiot could see that the boy liked Katara, and that Katara liked him, you'd all been through a lot together, it's only natural. But the War was over and it was time for her to come home and put aside childish whims born of chaotic times, and I told her so."

"No matter how much she cried as you said it. Did that not clue you in?"

"She's a girl, what can you do? Girls are emotional like that. Zuko understood when I laid it all out for him."

"Oh, I'm sure Zuko did."

"And that was the end of it."

"Except, obviously not, because Katara just ran off to Ember Island to marry the guy. Oh, yeah, and she's pregnant, too, in case you missed that."

Hakoda blinked.

Then he blinked again.

And then he blinked one more time, because, you know, _rule of threes,_ the natural dramatist in Sokka couldn't help but approve.

That's when the storm broke. Hakoda was on his feet, and he slammed his fists down on his desk hard enough to make the floor shake, and when he spoke, it was not so much words as it was an almost inhuman roar.

 _ **"WHAT?!"**_

There was a lot more after that, shouting and bellowing and roaring and stomping and so many punches got thrown into that desk that Sokka was shocked it didn't just crumble into dust, but, to be perfectly honest, Sokka stopped listening. He couldn't say he was surprised, but he _definitely_ couldn't say that he wasn't disappointed, either. The thing was, he knew his father, and he knew why the guy was reacting this way. _Hell, I'm not a hundred-percent sure I wouldn't react the same way, if it was my daughter._ Sokka frowned as he stood, snatching the greatly depleted bottle of fire whiskey from the desk and turning to face Aang. _The thing is, though…this never would've happened. I would've asked the one question my dad didn't:_ _ **Do you love him?**_ _Because Katara would've told the truth, that she'd loved Zuko for a while, maybe longer than either of them were fully aware of, and that would've been the end of it for me._

He chuckled. _Or maybe not; I can be an ass sometimes. I blame it on having such a scrumptious butt; it's so amazing, it bleeds into my personality. Not my fault at all, really; I blame it on the gods._

"So, Aang, my man," he said, tilting his head towards the door, "I know you don't normally drink, but I'd appreciate it if you'd come to my office and hoist a glass with me to my sister and my new brother-in-law. You in?"

Hakoda was still screaming, completely unaware of what was going on, which was probably why Aang nodded, smiled, and said, "You know what? Don't mind if I do. Besides," he continued, standing up and walking with Sokka towards the door, "if Toph found out that I was here for this and _didn't_ have at least one drink for her, she'd kick my butt from here to the Western Air Temple and back again."

Sokka laughed, clapping Aang on the back. "Amen, brother, amen. Come on, let's get going."

He had his hand on the door handle when his father finally realized what was happening, a discovery Hakoda announced by roaring, _**"AND JUST WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!"**_

Sokka rolled his eyes, and looked back over his shoulder. "I'm going to have a drink in honor of my sister, have Aang help me write a letter back to her, and then I'm going to get back to work, because we have, what, three days to get this treaty done and signed, and it's not going to write itself, you know? So, if you don't want to be happy for Katara, then I'm going to be happy for the both of us."

Those words seemed to take a little bit of the fight out of his father. Hakoda's shoulders slumped, and his chin fell to his chest, and he heaved a heavy sigh. "I can't be happy for her, Sokka," he admitted, his voice tinged with something like defeat. "I love you both, and she's my little girl, always will be, but…this goes against everything I was raised to believe, and it goes against everything I raised the both of you to believe in."

Sokka shrugged. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Dad. I still love you, just so you know, and Katara does, too. If she knew some of the words you just used in reference to her, it would break her heart."

Hakoda gave him a look that made Sokka wince. "And how do you think I feel?"

"I honestly don't know, Dad. Well…I mean, I _know,_ and I understand, I really do, but…" He sighed, shrugged, turned back to the door. "The ship has sailed, Dad; fighting it will only cost you your daughter."

"She's not my daughter anymore," came the reply, in a voice empty and cold and dead. "From this moment on, she is cast out from the tribe. She either leaves that boy, or she never comes home again. Be sure and tell her that in your letter."

To that, Sokka had only one thing to say: "You're the Chief; tell her yourself." Then he went out the door and back to his office, an arm around Aang's shoulders, trying desperately not to cry.

They were halfway through their celebratory glasses of whiskey before either of them spoke again. It was Aang, of course, because _naturally._ The guy eyed his whiskey, of which Sokka had only given him a finger's worth, and even that had painted his face a bright red, and when he spoke, he sounded a lot like the stodgy old monks the kid used to tell funny stories about, back in the day.

"You don't think you were a bit… _mean,_ to you dad, Sokka?"

Sokka sighed, and slowly nodded his head. "I was, Aang, but it needed to be done."

"Can I ask why?"

"Sure: Because someone had to do it. If I'd been anything _but_ mean, he would've taken that as a sign that I, too, thought Katara was being stupid, and would've done something stupid, like actually writing that letter of banishment."

Aang shot him a confused look. "Wait…he won't?"

Sokka allowed a little slyness into his smile. "Not in a million years. Knowing that I'm not on his side? That'll make him think things through, and having to write the letter and make the decree himself? _Never._ I give it two years, three, tops, before he finally goes to Ember Island and pretends he was happy all along."

Aang looked skeptical. "I'm not so sure about that. Did you see your dad in there?"

Sokka chuckled. "Wanna make it a bet?"

"What do I look like, Toph?"

"Well, you are drinking for her."

"True…"

In the end, Sokka couldn't get Aang to take the action, but when he managed to pop up to Yu Dao to have a celebratory drunk with Toph, she totally did. Sokka bet two years; Toph bet three.

In an event that shocked absolutely no one, not even Sokka, Toph won.

Sokka wasn't even mad.

* * *

 _SIX MONTHS AFTER SHE CAME TO EMBER ISLAND, SIX MONTHS AFTER SHE MARRIED ZUKO, THE FORMER PRINCE, KATARA GAVE BIRTH TO A HEALTHY BABY GIRL. They named her Kya, after Katara's mother, and gave her the family name_ _ **Tazaki,**_ _which Zuko and Iroh had replaced their old family names with after the monarchy was abolished. Little Tazaki Kya was the most beautiful thing Katara had ever seen in her life, and she loved the little thing instantly. Kya was born with dark brown hair, which grew in thick and curly, with skin a fascinating mix of mother and father and golden eyes that sparkled like the sun. Zuko was disappointed, because he knew how much his wife wanted a little waterbender, but Katara didn't mind; if anything, she found it somehow fitting, and couldn't help but think that her own mother would approve._

 _Iroh closed down the restaurant for the day, and for once, Zuko raised not a single syllable of objection to the potential loss of profits. The staff threw out all the stops to celebrate, and Katara beamed and let herself be pampered and oohed and aahed over. In a move that reduced her to happy tears, her friends appeared, ferried there by Aang, all of them, Toph and Sokka and even Suki, and it was one of the best days of her life. Toph could not stop cracking dirty jokes, each one more obscene than the last, and Aang even allowed himself not just one, but_ _ **two**_ _glasses of heavily watered spiced wine, and Suki couldn't stop playing with the baby._

 _Sokka was the best, though. He took one look at the crib, took it apart, and then, together, over many,_ _ **many**_ _bottles of sake, he and Zuko spent much of the night smoking cigars and putting together a brand-new one which was so beautiful Katara cried again, which she didn't mind, but she was a bit annoyed, because she was just about done with the hormones, thank you very much._

 _It wasn't until three years later, when their second daughter, little Tazaki Ursa was born (Katara's water broke right in the middle of the dinner shift at the restaurant, while she was right in the middle of tongue-lashing the alcohol deliveryman for being late,_ _ **again**_ _, an event that Iroh found quite humorous), that her father came. He showed up out of the blue, a few days after the girl was born. He strode into their home, the big house that once belonged to Fire Lords and that Katara and Zuko had made their own, and didn't say a word. Hakoda stood in the living room for what felt like a long time, because Zuko was at the restaurant and so it was Iroh who stood there, a hand on Hakoda's shoulder, smiling and bragging._

 _Katara didn't say a word. Ursa was asleep, and she was rocking the little girl, who had more of Zuko in her, with lighter skin than Kya, but jet black hair that would one day come in naturally long and straight. Katara didn't know any of this yet, though, and didn't care. She just kept rocking her little girl, while Kya stood beside her, clutching a doll, staring at the big man who looked like Uncle Sokka, but wasn't him._

 _Katara looked up, into her father's eyes. She smiled, and, still not saying a word, held up the bundle in her lap and stood and placed her daughter carefully in her father's arms. At first, her father looked terrified, and then he actually looked at his newest granddaughter, and saw the girl's eyes._

 _The eyes that were as deep and blue as the ocean itself._

 _That was when Hakoda, Chief of the Yuupik Clan of the Southern Water Tribes, burst into tears. He burst into tears, covered the little girl with kisses, and Katara, too, then he shifted Ursa to one arm and scooped Kya in his newly free one and covered her with kisses, too. Then, holding his granddaughters, he apologized to his daughter._

 _She told he him he had nothing to apologize for, that, if he insisted, well, she should apologize, too, and tried to, but he stopped her, and said that the only reason she needed to apologize was because he was an idiot who couldn't accept what was right in front of his face._

 _Hakoda was still talking with his daughter and Iroh and playing with his granddaughters when Zuko came in. Kya squealed, chanting_ _ **Daddy**_ _over and over again, running up to Zuko and not resting until he picked her up and spun her around through the air. Then he noticed Hakoda, drew himself up, and rendered a very proper bow, as only royalty could._

 _Hakoda just laughed, walked up and hugged Zuko hard enough to make Zuko wince. Then everyone sat down for a late dinner, and Hakoda told them all about how Katara had been away from home too long, Gran-Gran desperately wanted to see her great-granddaughters, and they didn't have to stay for long, he knew that they had a life here and the restaurant, but he'd appreciate a few weeks, because, see, it was high time Zuko was inducted into the tribe, and Hakoda wanted to show off his beautiful granddaughters._

 _It was one the happiest days of Katara's life._

* * *

Hey guys! I know it hasn't been too terribly long since we spoke to each other last, but, hey, thought I'd pop in and give you all a taste of what I'm going to be up to for a while. That being, one-shots, drabbles, and I've decided that I want to start doing challenges. This particular challenge was posted to the Avatar forum I was invited to a while back, the one I've done, like, absolutely nothing with, because Ro4N basically _ate my life._ But, now that that's done, and I'm focusing on an original project, I decided that that little challenge would be a perfect little palate cleanser, and so, here we are!

The challenge was, in essence, _write somebody making some sort of confession._ Being me, I wondered, _What would be a good confession?_ In the end, pretty much everybody is making some sort of confession here, though very few make it in so many words. Katara is confessing that she has let her duty and responsibilities and feelings of obligation to everyone but herself get in the way of her happiness; Zuko is confessing that he has well and truly let go of the life he once strived for and embraced a life that is at once smaller and much more satisfying; Sokka is confessing that he's ready to stop hiding behind his sister, as well as confessing that he rather likes this _brave new world_ and enjoys being a part of it; Aang is confessing that he's a grown-up who is finally at home with being the Avatar; and, last but not least, Hakoda first confesses that he's still stuck to the _old ways,_ and then, at the end, confesses that he was a silly fool and that his daughter's happiness really is more important than some stodgy old ways that he only believed out of habit anyways.

All because Katara realized she was pregnant, and decided to elope, because somehow, I don't know why, that feels like this story would work out in the end.

I also set myself a few _sub-challenges,_ if you will. Basically, I challenged myself to stay as close to Canon as I'm capable of (some things never change, like how Zuko made the right choice under Ba Sing Se and all that jazz), while also keeping as true to Canon characters, while also allowing them to grow up a bit. For those who are confused, in this universe, the Canon story took about two years, at the end of which Aang and Toph were 17, Katara 21, and Zuko and Sokka were 23. Add five years, and that's how old everyone is in this.

Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed it, and I really hope the challenger from the forum enjoys what I came up with. In case it wasn't clear, I'm also officially opening myself up for challenges. I'll consider anything you guys throw my way, but I reserve the right to decline, as well as to joss your idea in any way I wish. One thing to note: I'm about to dive head-first into an original project, so don't expect some Ro4N-style _great epic_ when I take up a challenge.

It doesn't even have to be an ATLA challenge, either! It's about time I fiddled around in other fandoms.

For those playing the home game, the wife is, of course, doing well. She says hi, sends you all her love, and is even more excited about my original project than I am, and she should be, because she came up with the opening line. What's the opening line, you ask? Simple: _Death sat in a bar, and waited._

Epic, right? I'm telling you, marrying someone smarter than you is the gift that never stops giving.

That's all for today, and for a while! I hope you all had fun, and I'll see you next time, here in the Kangaroo Corner!

PS - Let's just pretend that that _Kangaroo Corner_ bit never happened, m'kay? M'kay...


End file.
